Novel Full Chapter 315 The Masked Village
Chapter 315 The Masked Village
The village carried on as if nothing were amiss-farmers leading their cows out to graze, women hanging herbs to dry, children chasing each other through the dirt paths.
On the farm, a man’s hoe struck the earth with steady rhythm, dull thuds echoing against the mountain breeze.
Beside him, a woman knelt in the soil, plucking weeds from between rows of green shoots.
Her laughter was soft, carrying the warmth of a simple life.
“Husband, if you work any harder, the land will complain.”
The man chuckled, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Haha, If I don’t, how will we have enough for winter? Our son eats like a starving ox.”
The woman shook her head, smiling as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
For a brief moment, it was the perfect picture of peace-two villagers, husband and wife, tilling their humble fields beneath the sun.
But the illusion shattered the instant a shadow fell across their crops.
The earth trembled.
High above, two figures stepped down from the prow, robes stirring with qi, their presence so sharp it was like a blade pressed against the throat of heaven and earth.
Bai Ren’s cold eyes swept the fields like a storm. Beside him, Bai Zihan’s crimson gaze landed on the couple.
Several villagers exchanged glances, a flicker of panic flashing in their eyes before they smoothed their faces again.
One look was enough to recognize Bai Zihan as someone of high status. Additionally, Cultivators were all revered in the Falling Star Empire.
The man stepped forward and bowed respectfully, his voice trembling just the right amount to sound genuine.
“L-Lords, what brings such esteemed guests to this humble village?”
The wife picked up her basket of herbs and with a face full of fear, said.
“We are but simple folk. If we have offended you in any way, please forgive
us…”
Their act was flawless to ordinary eyes. But Bai Zihan didn’t even blink.
He clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze sharp enough to flay skin from bone.
“Take me to your leader and you might live.”
The silence that followed was suffocating.
“L-Lord, I don’t understand. Do you want to meet with the Village Head?”
The man asked.
“Don’t let me repeat myself.”
Bai Zihan declared.
It was enough from this word that Bai Zihan already knows about their secret organization.
The tall man’s smile froze. The woman’s hands trembled ever so slightly, the herbs in her basket scattering onto the dirt path.
Their eyes darted, meeting each other for the briefest instant.
Then-murderous intent flared.
The man’s body blurred as a dagger coated with venomous qi shot from his sleeve, aimed straight for Bai Zihan’s throat.
At the same instant, the woman’s herbs scattered into a poisonous mist, her fingers weaving seals as she unleashed a hidden talisman, streaking like lightning toward Bai Zihan.
The moment the two strikes flew, the farm’s peace tore like paper.
“Since, you already know, then die!”
The dagger sang through the air-swift, lethal, a glint of black qi trailing its edge.
The talisman hissed and blossomed into a choking green mist that curled toward Bai Zihan like a living thing.
Bai Zihan didn’t even move and just watched.
The dagger never reached his throat-his Qi barrier intercepted it, stopping the blade in midair as if it had struck an immaterial wall.
The black qi sizzled and died, collapsing into harmless motes that drifted to the ground.
As for the poison that the woman used, there was no effect at all. There was no way that weak poison as such would work against his body.
This made the two who were acting as husband and wife wary.
“Our attack has no effect. Our enemy seemed quite powerful. Good thing, they
are stupid!”
Around them, the false villagers shed their masks.
Seamed sleeves slipped away to reveal hidden knives, belt pouches spilled out more talismans and vials, and men who had pretended to mend roofs pulled
short spears from beneath straw mats.
Where moments ago had been harmless laborers were assassins, eyes cold and merciless.
“Cover blown,” the man snarled, voice raw,
“Capture the boy-he seemed to have some status and we can ask how he knew
of this place. As for the old man, kill him!”
A dozen furtive nods passed among the revealed assassins.
They scattered into motion with practiced efficiency; this was no amateur banditry but an organized operation, coordinated and ruthless.
Bai Ren, who had stood silent and still. He did not move to help; he didn’t need
to.
He just watched Bai Zihan take care of everything by himself with admiration. (He has grown even stronger.)
An 18 years old Spirit Severing Realm heir, he couldn’t help laughing when he
heard that.
There was also Bai Xueqing who wasn’t bad at all.
With such a generation, Bai Ren felt quite relieved and positive about the future
of the Bai Clan.
He will protect Bai Zihan but didn’t think it was needed for such a group of
trash.
The assassins closed in at once, a ring of blades and flashing talismans. They struck from all sides, a coordinated burst meant to overwhelm.
Bai Zihan took it as if it were a summer breeze. Spears struck air; knives were met by a palm that barely moved.
A talisman exploded a hand’s distance away and died like a spent firework. Where dozens had lunged, only scattered cloth and groans answered.
Men who had trained years to move as one found themselves tripped, disarmed, or knocked unconscious in pairs and threes. It took him no longer than a slow breath.
When the dust settled, the field was scatter of bruised bodies and broken weapons. Only one man still breathed, curled up and trembling where he’d
been thrown.
Bai Zihan stepped forward and crouched until his face was level with the survivor’s. His crimson eyes were cold and bored.
“Lead me to your base,” he threatened. “Or you’ll suffer the same fate as the
others.”
The man choked, saliva and blood at his lips, eyes blown wide with fear.
He could not tell if the command was mercy or the promise of worse. Behind Bai Zihan, Bai Ren’s shadowed profile watched, approving-There is no need for mercy for enemies, especially those who are after your life.
The survivor staggered to his feet, clutching his ribs where Bai Zihan’s strike
had cracked bone.
His eyes darted to Bai Ren, then back to the crimson gaze boring into him.
“I-I’ll take you,” he stammered, his voice hoarse. “Just… just spare my life, young
master. I beg you.”
Bai Zihan rose, hands folded neatly behind his back.
“So long as you lead us there, you may keep your pitiful life.”
The man swallowed, unable to tell if it was truth or mockery, but he dared not
gamble. Nodding frantically, he stumbled down a house in the village which leads to their underground base, every step quickened by fear of the predator following
him.
The survivor stumbled ahead, clutching his side as he led them past rows of houses that still looked perfectly mundane-smoke curling from chimneys, tools leaning against walls, drying herbs hanging in bundles.
The man stopped at the farthest house, its door slightly crooked, a basket of
grain left out front as if abandoned.
With trembling fingers, he pushed it open. Inside was nothing but a bare, dusty
room, a cracked table, and a rug spread across the floor.
He kicked the rug aside.
A wooden trapdoor lay beneath. He hesitated, glancing back at Bai Zihan with
pleading eyes.
“I’ve brought you… please, young master… my life, as promised?”
Bai Zihan’s red eyes lingered on him for a moment.
“Lead the way!” The man nearly collapsed with relief, pulling open the trapdoor. A stale draft
wafted up, thick with blood and cold metal.
The descent was long and steep, torchlight flickering along carved stone walls.
Strange glyphs glowed faintly in the dark, forming layers of defensive
formations.
Yet none of them triggered, as if permission had already been granted.
By the time they reached the bottom, the air was heavy with killing intent.
The underground chamber stretched vast and wide, carved into a network of tunnels that converged into a central hall.
There, dozens of assassins waited-robes black as ink, weapons in hand, masks hiding every trace of humanity.
And above them all stood a man.
Void Refinement Realm! The assassins parted before him like shadows retreating from flame.
He studied Bai Zihan and Bai Ren with cold, measuring eyes. His voice, when it
came, was slow and steady, as if he were already tightening a noose around
their necks.
“Looks like they already know.”
Bai Zihan murmured under his breath. eves narrowing.
The elder’s eyes locked on Bai Zihan and Bai Ren. His tone was calm, but it
carried the weight of one accustomed to commanding death.
“You’ve come far enough.” His gaze sharpened. “Now tell me who are you? And how did you find our base?”